1

StorytellingToolkitUse this resource to help you craft stronger and more compelling stories.

The Early Childhood Innovation Prize

2

Storytelling has an incredible capacity to support organizations. Stories capture imagination, inspire others, bring in funding, identify and cultivate supporters and ultimately deepen your impact. They help you become an effective communicator of the challenges you’re solving and the work you’re doing.

We work on stories using the same process we’ve applied to ideas—by prototyping, getting feedback and refining them. The most powerful stories are both clear and compelling.

Here’s a tool to get you started.

We want to help you craft better stories so that you can make a deeper impact in the work you do everyday. This resource will help you tell the story of your work within this project grant and beyond.

WhyStorytelling?

3

It’s important to have a strong core message. The questions below will help you think about your potential audience. There’s an example on the next page.

1. How might you summarize your idea in one sentence?

2. How might you explain your idea to someone’s grandmother?

3. How might you explain your idea to someone in your industry?

PRACTICE

TIP

Look back to your User Experience Map as a guide to help you summarize the main elements of your idea.

Since we’re tackling messy and complex design challenges, our ideas need to be clear. This exercise will help you get to the core of your story by having you reflect on how you might share your idea with different audiences.

Know YourMessage

MAKE IT CLEAR

4

Summarize your idea in one sentence. We help small farmers thrive by providing them with the information and technology they need to maximize profits from their crops.

How might you explain your idea with a grandmother? We help farmers anticipate how much they’ll grow and sell their crops directly to buyers before harvest.

How might you explain your idea to someone in your industry? We created an online platform that projects the yield for small-scale farmers, using information from past yields, geography and input. The platform links them to buyers in advance of harvest using a 2-way SMS system. Farmers get a deposit to help them have an income year-round.

After you’ve developed your core messages, share them with three different people. Ask them questions like:

Is my idea clear?

What questions do you still have?

What would you change?

What was confusing? We help farmers anticipate how much they’ll grow and sell their crops directly to buyers before harvest.

EXAMPLE

GET FEEDBACK: IS YOUR IDEA CLEAR?

Know Your Message

MAKE IT CLEAR

5

Know YourAudience

Write down two different groups that you share your ideas and stories with (Ex: a collaborator or potential funder).

Who is the group?

What do they care about?

What do they value?

What part of your work would make

them curious to learn more?

What support do you want from them?

PRACTICE

TIP

Be sure you understand the OpenIDEO Challenge sponsor/partner’s needs so you can sculpt your Idea contribution in a way that will resonate with them.

Context matters. In order to develop clear and compelling stories, it’s essential that to understand who your audience is and the goal of your message in a particular setting.

THE CONTEXT

6

Craft YourStory

There’s a number of ways to craft a compelling story. The model on the next page of this toolkit is an adaptation of the SUCCES model, based off Dan and Chip Heath’s book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. This is a great way to build out the elements of your story.

TIP

Writer’s block? Try explaining your idea to someone aloud before writing your story.

Clarifying your message and audience is just the beginning. Now it’s time to tell your core message in a way that addresses the values and interests of your audience.

MAKE IT COMPELLING

7

Use the SUCCES model and test your story

with these questions:

Can you share your story with someone else in less than 3 minutes?

Have you included context about what makes your story unique?

Do you support your idea with anecdotes, statistics or examples?

Have you explained how you plan to achieve this idea?

Did you include the personal experiences of your beneficiaries?

Stories take many forms—is your story supported through visuals?

MAKE IT COMPELLING

Craft Your Story

PRACTICE

Simple

Unexpected

Concrete

Credible

Emotional

Stories

8

PRACTICE

TIP

Revise your story using the feedback you receive from these questions.

The best stories incorporate feedback. Your goal should be to always learn about how you can improve your story. This exercise will help you ask for feedback, which you’ll use to revise your story.

Share YourStory

GET FEEDBACK

Take 3 minutes to share your story with three different people. Then ask them the following questions:

What resonated with you in my story?

What do you still have questions about?

What was most memorable?

How would you summarize my idea

in one or two sentences?

What did you like? What would

you add?

9

Submit to the Prize

Good Luck!